The Fashion Informer

Happy Friday!

photo courtesy Christian Louboutin

Introducing…Claridge + King

The Label: Claridge + King
Based In: Tennessee and Texas
Designed By: Sisters Laurann Claridge and Lizbeth King, Connecticut natives—and granddaughters of NYC garmentos—who now reside in Houston and Nashville, respectively. They launched Claridge + King in 2008 with just one piece: the His is Hers button-down (a scaled down version of a classic men's shirt). "For years we pinched our boyfriend/husband/father's old button-down shirts to wear, but inherently there was always the conundrum of fit," said Claridge, who also serves as features editor for PaperCity and writes for national style mags such as Lucky (her sister, meanwhile, holds an MBA and is a former investment banker who's also raising three kids). "The men in our lives wore shirts that were either too boxy on us, the sleeves too long or the tails too short, hitting at the most unflattering part of your thigh. We decided to create a boyfriend shirt that felt like his shirt but that was made for her—one that could do double duty as both a nightshirt and a marvelously chic, throw it on piece over a mini, leggings, skinny jeans and cargos or a swimsuit. The idea was if people 'got it' and felt we were filling a void in their closet we would unroll more pieces with the same vibe." People immediately got it, and the line now includes several versions of the His is Hers shirt, dresses, a sleep and loungewear collection and a smattering of accessories.
Looks Like: The sexiest borrowed-from-the-boys pieces ever, cut to flatter a woman's figure. "While some of our silhouettes, like the His is Hers Shirt series, are obviously borrowed from his closet, we love the enduring style and attention to tailoring, materials and design often found in custom men's clothing and upper end men's ready-to-wear fashion," Claridge told The Fashion Informer. "The colors are also very much inspired by his closet as well, from rich grays, olives and blues to the crisp whites—hues that endure season to season." So in addition to the classic His is Hers collection (which includes crisp cotton button-downs, tuxedo shirts, shirtdresses and a very chic Bridal Shirt designed to be monogrammed with the bride-to-be's married initials and wedding date), C+K also offers traditional-with-a-twist peasant blouses, cotton pjs, easy-breezy dresses, reversible leggings, tunics and the Patch Sweater, a side slit cotton knit v-neck with leather patches running from wrist to elbow—all of which are destined become your favorite wardrobe staples. 
Sold At: Claridge + King retails from $35 to $260 and is sold at high-end boutiques and lingerie stores nationwide, and online at Claridge + King.

Random Questions For…Evyan Metzner

Evyan Metzner may not be the type of uber-trendy magazine editor who's a magnet for street style blogs, a la Kate Lanphear, Giovanna Battaglia, Joanna Hillman or Anna Dello Russo. But that doesn't mean she doesn't pack a major style punch.

In fact, I'd hazard to guess that Metzner's more laid-back brand of chic—which she honed at Mademoiselle, Harper's Bazaar and Vanity Fair before landing her current gig as Fashion Director at SELF—resonates with far more women than those whose main source of news is Style.com and The Daily. By which I mean, ordinary women who are anything but, the type of real-world heroines—fitness buffs, working moms, and anyone seeking to live a well-balanced life—that  Metzner and SELF celebrate in the pages of their magazine (online and off-), year in and year out.

"I knew I wanted to be a fashion stylist when I was about 20 years old," Metzner told The Fashion Informer. "I had always kind of styled without knowing that was what I was doing. I used to dress up my brothers and sisters and my friends. But it wasn’t until I knew that the job actually existed at a magazine that I knew what I wanted to do.  And I love styling because it’s part of making a picture. I’ve always loved photography and it was a way to help make pictures without actually being a photographer.  I could never design clothes—I have no idea how to sew. But I know how to put things together and how to think of stories in my head and what clothes would work well to hold those stories together." 

Metzner, who joined SELF in 2004, describes her aesthetic as being a blend of "diamonds and Birkenstocks" and believes that style is "a mixture of fun and function." All of which you can see in her stories, which have also appeared in American and British Vogue, Teen Vogue and InStyle (she also consults for commercial clients such as Banana Republic, Reem Acra, Estée Lauder, John Frieda and Victoria's Secret).

"I love sparkly, shiny, colorful, cheerful clothes mixed with a little sporty, down-to-earth, easy-to-wear feeling," says the tousle-haired blond. "I love to mix high and low prices and I’m not snobby about what I like, whether it’s a $5 t-shirt or a $700 pair of YSL shoes."

That doesn't mean, however, that all styling gigs are created equal. "SELF is much more of a lifestyle magazine in which it's about finding your personal style, as opposed to reporting on fashion just for the sake of fashion," says Metzner, who studied communications and art history at the College of Wooster in Ohio. "I love that SELF has a great mixture of fashion, reality and fantasy.  When you work for magazines like Vogue or Bazaar or InStyle, it's more about the fashion than about whether someone is going to really wear it or where they can wear it. But I like both!" 

And Metzner, who has worked with such legendary photographers as Annie Leibovitz, Arthur Elgort, Bruce Weber and Carter Smith, recently began Tweeting, which she also likes ("It's been a really interesting learning experience!").  

The Fashion Informer spoke to the busy mother of two before the last round of shows to dish on dream jobs, the difference between a stylist and a Fashion Director, and the secrets to producing a great fashion shoot.

So, Evyan…

What's on your nightstand?
A photograph of my Dad and a photograph of my children.  A shell, heart-shaped jewelry box. David Sedaris’s A Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Wicked Bestiary, which has replaced my Hunger Games novels.  And an iHome to play music to wake up to. It's cluttered.


Favorite time of day?
Morning.  I get to hang out with my kids, make breakfast and run around like a crazy person.

What's your idea of a perfect meal?
Something I don’t have to cook, like Thai food.

What part of your job do you love the most? Least?
I love working with photographers, traveling, seeing new things—like clothes, jewelry, something sparkly or neon. I love it!  And [I love] my assistant, Jackie. What I like least is having no control over the weather.

What's your all-time favorite location to shoot?
That’s a toughie.  I’d have to say Scotland.  I love the rolling hills and the roughness of it.  And the people. And I also love New York City. But every place has a special memory and a story to tell.


What was your favorite subject when you were in junior high school?
English. I love to read.

What's your go-to feel-good song on a shoot?
It changes all the time!  We shoot outside, so it depends on the vibe of the shoot and where we are. Beyoncé is always a good stand-by.  Or Michael Jackson.

What is your computer desktop/screensaver image? 
A picture of my kids and I at the beach.

If given the chance, what one question would you ask God, assuming s/he exists?
“Why?” Or, “What happens to someone when they die?”

What will we never see in an Evyan Metzner-styled layout?
A guy wearing women’s underwear in a fur coat.  Or a girl looking super strung out.


Name one thing I'll always find in your closet and one thing I'd never find there.
I have a million little fitted blazers and sparkly tops. You could play dress-up easily in my closet—it’s got everything from a gypsy skirt from India to five pairs of Wellies.  It's pretty crazy. So I can't really say you’d “never” find anything in there.  Though maybe not anything Snookie would wear...

Who is your all-time favorite musician?
The Rolling Stones are my favorite.


What's your favorite form of communication?
Telephone.  If face-to-face isn’t an option.

What's your cell phone ringtone?
I think it’s the classic iPhone one.  I’m not that tech-y.

What's the difference between a Fashion Director and a stylist?
A Fashion Director oversees the whole fashion department in terms of all of the stories that are shot and the complete look of the fashion pages in a magazine. You are responsible for going to the shows and seeing the trends and figuring out what works best for your magazine and then directing people. It's about being part of a group, working with photographers and art directors and seeing a fashion story from the beginning through the middle, to the end. As a stylist, you can just dress somebody like a celebrity.  Or you can work freelance and do a story for a magazine, but not necessarily be a part of the story from beginning, to end.  You style it and you’re done.  As a stylist, you can also work with more than one magazine or client.  As a Fashion Director, you work for one magazine. Both are great jobs.  One just has more “big picture” responsibility, and one is more story-to-story responsibility.  Some people are better at working within a team, and some people are better working on their own.  I’m a team-er.

What would you like to be doing if you weren't SELF's Fashion Director?
I would love to have a flower shop or nursery.  I love flowers and gardening.

What are your top three must-haves for a successful shoot?
A great girl, which means casting is everything. A good concept for the fashion. And a great photographer.


What keeps you awake at 3am?
Worrying about the weather, the world and my husband snoring.

When are you happiest?
I am happiest doing something with my family, whether it's skiing, walking on the beach, or just hanging out.

1 = 1,000: RIP Maurice Sendak

TFI on Ru La La: Schiaparelli and Prada

Here's what happened When Elsa Met Miuccia (at least according to the Met's latest Costume Institute exhibit, Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations).

Happy Friday!

TFI on Rue La La: Met Gala Style

A few of the red carpet looks from the 2012 Met Gala celebrating the opening of Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations, as seen on Rue La La.

But my favorite look of the evening had to be the Prada ensemble on model Angela Lindvall, which struck just the right note of cool without looking like she was trying too hard. Elsa Schiaparelli would surely approve, even if those know-nothing fashion police don't.

TFI on Rue La La: Spring Style Books

Every season brings a fresh crop of style books, and this spring's offerings are delightful, from fashion insider memoirs to inspirational coffee table tomes. Here are my favorites.

THE INSIDERS

Isabel Toledo has been a working fashion designer since the mid-80s, when she sold her first collection to Patricia Field and Henri Bendel. But it wasn't until First Lady Michelle Obama wore Toledo's lemongrass felted lace coat and dress to her husband's inauguration that the Cuban-born, New Jersey-bred designer became a household name the world over. Her new memoir, Roots of Style, traces her journey from Castro's Cuba to FIT to the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute (where she interned under Diana Vreeland) to the top of the fashion pyramid, with helpful advice for fledgling designers and fanciful artwork by her illustrator husband, Ruben.

Unlike Toledo, Marisa Berenson has been famous her whole life, a claim backed up by A Life In Pictures. The book features 300 lavish photos of the aristocratic heiress (and granddaughter of legendary fashion designer, Elsa Schiaparelli, currently the subject of a Met Costume Institute exhibit) beginning with her privileged childhood (her christening portrait, by Irving Penn, was published in Vogue and she was photographed for her first Elle cover at age five) to her 70s-era modeling heyday (when she was a constant presence on the covers of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Interview, Newsweek and Town & Country) to film stills from her acting work in Barry Lyndon, Cabaret and I am Love. All told, this is a fascinating portrait of a fascinating woman.

Brad Goreski's inspiring, surprisingly moving memoir, Born to be Brad follows the dapper Canadian import's rise from Barbie loving, much-taunted chubby wannabe actor to an internship at Vogue, a well-publicized stint assisting Rachel Zoe (as chronicled on Bravo's The Rachel Zoe Project)  through his current incarnation as celebrity stylist and star of his own reality show, It's a Brad, Brad World. Really, it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

As I mentioned in an earlier piece on TFI, photographer Kirstin Sinclair is the ultimate fashion insider, covering the New York, London, Milan and Paris Fashion Week shows season after season for Elle UK and other A-list outlets. A Front Row Seat gathers her most striking images from the last decade, taking readers backstage, behind-the-scenes and front row center at some of the biggest shows around. There's also a section devoted to street style, starring the world's favorite models, bloggers and fashion editors.

THE ICONS

Subtitled "Beyond the Boundaries of Fashion," blogger Lizzie Garrett Hettler's Tomboy Style shines a light on our most intriguing boy-meets-girl icons, from Coco Chanel, Marlene Dietrich, Lee Miller, Amelia Earheart, Jean Seberg and Katharine Hepburn to modern day muses Lauren Hutton, Diane Keaton, Patti Smith, Lou Doillon, Alexa Chung and Tilda Swinton, none of whom ever met a tailored blazer or pair of boyfriend jeans they didn't like.

Photographer Lillian Bassman worked with some of the finest magazines and advertisers of the day back in the 1950s and '60s. The just-released Lillian Bassman: Lingerie captures the late photographer's artful images for lingerie companies Maidenform, Vanity Fair and Warner, featuring lanky Mad Man-era models in excruciatingly glamorous brassieres, girdles, peignoirs, corsets and camisoles.

Christian Louboutin makes women see red, in the best way possible. This lavish coffee table book of the same name showcases twenty years worth of the French cobbler's most fantastical crimson-soled creations–including snakeskin platforms, glittering t-straps, feathered sandals and thigh-high boots–in surreal photos by Philippe Garcia and David Lynch.

ALL ABOUT BEAUTY

American Beauty, by fine art photographer (and Anna Wintour's former assistant) Claiborne Swanson Frank, features casual-yet-studied portraits of some of our country's prettiest natives, such as Aerin Lauder, Minnie Mortimer, Elettra Wiedemann, Amanda Brooks, Cristina Cuomo, Joan Smalls, Marissa Mayer and Amanda Hearst, as well as Lauren Santo Domingo, Meredith Melling Burke and many of the author's other former Vogue colleagues. The majority of Swanson Frank's subjects are shot outdoors in natural settings that complement their natural beauty (though oddly, none are shown smiling). Which may be why my favorite image is that of interior designer Nena Woolworth, photographed leaning against the railing of a child's playhouse, a cigarette dangling from her mischievously smirking lips, looking like she's having the time of her life and doesn't care what anyone thinks. Now that's a beautiful thing.

Finally, artist/hairdresser Bob Recine takes a decidedly more unnatural approach to things, as can be seen in his book, Alchemy of Beauty, which is filled with images of gorgeous women transformed into otherworldly creatures thanks to Recine's artful way with wigs, hairpins, sunglasses, flowers, safety pins, Play-Doh, duct tape, razor blades, cellophane and rubber duckies, all of which are used in new and inventive ways that will have you rethinking the very meaning of beauty.

1 = 1,000: Life Is Short

Informed Obsession: Anthropologie Dipped Sessile Necklace

 Forget man vs. nature. This pretty pendant stylishly demonstrates what can happen when you blend the best of Mother Nature (a piece of natural coral found on the beach) with the hottest spring trend (neon, in all its blazing glory). Available in bright turquoise, pink and yellow, along with a more neutral metallic silver, the Dipped Sessile Necklace from Anthropologie is strung on a delicate 25" chain and costs just $48. Best of all, because each piece of coral is unique, each necklace is one-of-a-kind. Coral…err….color me happy!